Carol Firenze Anglin, the renowned author of The Passionate Olive, will tell us all we ever wanted to know about olive oil (and then some) featuring stories from growing up in her Italian-American family and using olive oil for everything. She will share photos and tales from her Olive Harvest Adventure tours to Umbria and Tuscany.

Along the way, she will provide highlights of the 8,000-year history of what Homer named “liquid gold,” including:

• Why only virgins and celibate men were allowed to pick olives in 7th Century B.C.
• Why what you think is extra virgin olive oil may not be olive oil at all
• The wide-ranging uses of olive oil from the kitchen to the bedroom (use your imagination…)

With the family name of Firenze (capital city of Tuscany), Carol was destined to write about her favorite subject. Growing up in an Italian-American family, Carol started her early career in education as a history teacher. After receiving her Doctorate from USF, she worked for an international management consulting firm, living abroad and teaching executives and developing communication strategies for major corporations. During a sabbatical, Carol followed her interest in the history of health, religion, beauty and culinary arts with the major connector of these subjects—olive oil.

In 2003, Carol formed her company, The Passionate Olive, and wrote a book of the same name. Considered an expert in olive oil, Carol lectures worldwide, hosts Olive Harvest Adventure tours to Umbria and Tuscany and wrote an iPhone/iPad app called GoEVOO that helps consumers find true Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in the U.S.